Tag: Saraph

CALGARY — Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau used a speech to oil executives Wednesday to blame the federal government’s “megaphone diplomacy” for delays in a U.S. decision on the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.[np_storybar title=”Stephen Harper ‘won’t take no for an answer’ from U.S. on Keystone XL pipeline” link=”https://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/26/stephen-harper-wont-take-no-for-an-answer-from-u-s-on-keystone-xl-pipeline/?__lsa=6f79-0bf9″%5DCanada “won’t take no for an answer” from the U.S. when it comes to the Keystone XL pipeline, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday as he sharpened his sales pitch for the controversial cross-border energy proposal.Continue reading. [/np_storybar]Trudeau told the Calgary Petroleum Club that Stephen Harper’s government has failed to come up with a “sensible” national strategy on greenhouse gases and that is damaging Canada’s reputation.“After eight years here is what the so-called friendliest government the Canadian energy industry has ever had has accomplished: We are further than ever from a sensible policy to reduce carbon pollution and the oil sands have become the international poster child for climate change,” Trudeau told the well-heeled crowd.“The government has failed to move the yardsticks on one of the most important infrastructure projects of our generation — the XL pipeline. They have needlessly antagonized our closest friend and most important market and they have failed to gain access to the growing markets of the Asia-Pacific region.”Trudeau was critical of Harper’s suggestion that the project was a “no brainer” for President Barack Obama to approve.“You don’t have to be (former Liberal prime minister) Lester Pearson to know bad diplomacy when you see it,” said Trudeau. “The prime minister has been far, far more concerned with making headlines than making progress.”Trudeau said Canadians have never been bullies, despite having vast petroleum reserves.“We have the second-largest petroleum reserves in the world that the world is very interested in purchasing. But that doesn’t give us the power to push anyone around because people know our economy depends on actually creating markets for those resources.”Trudeau said if Canada isn’t able to convince the world that it is strong environmentally, it will lose market access for its natural resources.TransCanada’s Keystone XL project would carry 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta across six U.S. states to the Texas Gulf Coast.Obama is expected to issue a final decision later this year or in 2014 on whether to allow the $7-billion pipeline to proceed through the U.S.Trudeau said he supports Keystone because it is in the public interest.But he said he doesn’t believe that the case for the Northern Gateway pipeline proposed by Calgary-based Enbridge has been made.That project would deliver 525,000 barrels of petroleum a day from Alberta to a tanker terminal in Kitimat, on the B.C. coast.“There’s no question we need to get our energy resources to the Pacific. I’ve looked at the facts. I’ve looked at the resistance to it. I’ve looked at the politicization of it and I just don’t see Northern Gateway as it stands being a viable proposal,” Trudeau said.“I wish I could say something else, but that’s not my case to make. That’s up to the government. That’s up to the proponents and that case just has not been made.”The Canadian Pressread more

TORONTO — Workers at General Motors’ CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., accepted a tentative agreement Monday, ending a four-week-long strike.The contract proposal was hammered out last week and Unifor, which represents 2,500 of the 2,800 workers affected, had recommended the deal be accepted.The union says almost 86 per cent of production workers and 79 per cent of tradesworkers approved the contract. About 2,400 workers voted.Mike Van Boekel, CAMI unit chairman for Local 88, says employees will receive four per cent wage increases over the four-year deal, a $6,000 signing bonus and annual payments of $2,000 each Christmas.While GM didn’t agree to specific investments at the plant, CAMI will remain the main production centre for the Equinox with three shifts.Van Boekel says the automaker will be forced to pay $300 million for any future job cuts. About 400 workers are currently on layoff.The automaker threatened last week to shift more production to Mexico if a settlement wasn’t reached swiftly and the two sides agreed to a deal on Friday.Striking workers will start returning to the job at 11 p.m. Monday.read more